An analysis of new Bureau of Labor Statistics data for the first quarter of 2018 shows that the labor force participation rate has not returned to pre-2007 recession levels, and relative to 2000 the rate looks even worse.

An analysis of the FIRST STEP Act (H.R. 5682) reveals that it could have an adverse impact on efforts to control illegal immigration and to deport criminal aliens. The legislation is likely to receive a floor vote in the House by the end of the month.

While there are many obstacles to ending "catch and release," these are the main impediments: deficiencies in the credible fear system; the current iteration of the TVPRA; and the Flores settlement agreement.

Until these loopholes in our immigration laws are addressed through legislation, actions taken by the president will not be sufficient to secure the border.

James McHenry, Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), was featured in an Immigration Newsmaker conversation hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies on Tuesday, May 1 at the National Press Club.

Editor’s Note: These remarks were delivered at a recent swearing-in ceremony for new citizens.

Congratulations, Americans!

You’ve come a long way since you first got here. Whether you came on foot or by bus, or ship, or airplane, you arrived here as strangers — many of you didn’t know the language, some didn’t have any friends or family here, and all of you were at least a little bit nervous about starting a new life in a new country.

An analysis of new Bureau of Labor Statistics data for the first quarter of 2018 shows that the labor force participation rate has not returned to pre-2007 recession levels, and relative to 2000 the rate looks even worse.

An analysis of the FIRST STEP Act (H.R. 5682) reveals that it could have an adverse impact on efforts to control illegal immigration and to deport criminal aliens. The legislation is likely to receive a floor vote in the House by the end of the month.

While there are many obstacles to ending "catch and release," these are the main impediments: deficiencies in the credible fear system; the current iteration of the TVPRA; and the Flores settlement agreement.

Until these loopholes in our immigration laws are addressed through legislation, actions taken by the president will not be sufficient to secure the border.

James McHenry, Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), was featured in an Immigration Newsmaker conversation hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies on Tuesday, May 1 at the National Press Club.

Editor’s Note: These remarks were delivered at a recent swearing-in ceremony for new citizens.

Congratulations, Americans!

You’ve come a long way since you first got here. Whether you came on foot or by bus, or ship, or airplane, you arrived here as strangers — many of you didn’t know the language, some didn’t have any friends or family here, and all of you were at least a little bit nervous about starting a new life in a new country.

A Wall Street Journal story on the OPT program made no mention of the huge subsidy for hiring foreign "students" instead of Americans — but the bigger failure was that the 40-page Pew report that the story was based on didn't mention it either.

While there has been a great deal of discussion on "discharge petitions" and the "queen[s] of the Hill" rule as they relate to immigration legislation pending in the House of Representatives, some background may help to clarify these issues.

The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit research organization founded in 1985. It is the nation's only think tank devoted exclusively to research and policy analysis of the economic, social, demographic, fiscal, and other impacts of immigration on the United States.